Bangalore: Karnataka is now home to 6,072 Asiatic elephants, 5,945 of which were spotted in the Mysore elephant reserve (MER) alone, according to the latest elephant census.

The Karnataka Elephant Census 2012, conducted by the state forest department in May last year and carried out by the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, showed an increase in the state’s elephant population since 2010 when their number stood at 5,800.

Teak, Oak Among Those Cut On Designated CA Site

Bangalore: Close to 3,000 fullgrown trees were cut down late last week on a 10-acre land on the outskirts of the city. Land is part of Plot No. 40, Doddanekkundi II Stage, near Whitefield. A neighbouring company, Bhoruka Steel Limited, which was involved in developing the land, is crying foul. It sees the move as an attempt to palm off a plot designated for civic amenities to another company.

Civic Body Has To Identify Sites, Inform Centre

Bangalore: Here’s a fresh blow to the BBMP. The municipal body might soon have to face flak from the Centre. The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is all set to amend its existing rules to make it mandatory for all municipal bodies to identify sanitary landfill sites and inform the Centre about it.

Thereafter, they will have to dump their municipal waste at the identified landfill sites alone. “Throwing urban municipal waste wherever municipal bodies feel like will automatically come to a stop. This step is meant to encourage municipal bodies to follow a procedure and only dump garbage where they are allowed to,” Subba Rao, director, MoEF said on Monday.